


When the Road Takes a Twist

by Consulted_moriarty



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Brotherhood, Fluff, Vs. Nature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-20
Updated: 2013-04-20
Packaged: 2017-12-08 23:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/767380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Consulted_moriarty/pseuds/Consulted_moriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The band were headed back home when events turned for the worst. For starters, they're all stuck in a van with a hyper Jon. From there, their day sucks into a mass of terrible events. But through friendship, they will survive. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I obviously do not own the band (Though that is a pleasant thought!) nor do I own any of the members. This work is my own, and is based off of SPG. I hope you enjoy! I do love reviews!

The Steam Powered Giraffe band had been on the road far too long. Michael and Steve would switch at the wheel every few hours, Steve drove right now, with Michael fast asleep in the passenger seat.  
Sam was sitting with The Jon on the seat directly behind the front two. The Jon was bouncing about with excitement, singing Ju-Ju Magic and often bumping his shoulder against Sam's. Sam was trying to relax and look out the window at the shimmering landscape, but his attention kept coming back to the hyper Jon.  
The Spine sat in the row behind Sam and Jon, well, /lied/ in that row, to be exact. His upper body lie on the cushion, one of his shoulders hanging off the seat, and his long legs were bent at the knees. His optics were closed, but he smiled as he heard Sam let out an annoyed sigh at The Jon's hyper state.  
The Rabbit was in the far back, watching the road pass by. He had his chin on his palm, with his elbow propped against the windowsill. His mismatched optics admired the sunrise, watching the sun as it broke over the horizon. Beams of purple and red blasted out from the mountain peak, reaching across the darkened blue sky. He watched as sparkling stars shifted away from the bright rays, returning to their hiding state. He finally had something interesting to look at, instead of the sandy wasteland they drove through; so he became annoyed when The Jon's giggles and shouts pulled him from the view.  
Steve was tired and sore and kept jumping when The Jon would excitedly point out a tumbleweed or small brush.  
"The Jon, could you power down or take a moment of silence?" Steve asked, causing The Jon to break mid song.  
"Please?" Sam threw in, desperate for a moment of silence. The Jon pulled his eyebrows together as if he was actually thinking about it. But Steve knew better, he sighed loudly. He took one hand off the wheel and punched Michael in the shoulder, who, in turn, jolted awake.  
"What the hell?" He asked, looking over at Steve. Steve groaned and looked at Michael. "I've driven all night, your turn." He claimed while pulling the van to the side of the road. Michael rolled his eyes and unbuckled his seat belt, he opened the car door and got out, taking a moment to stretch. The Kansas morning heat poured into the vehicle and The Spine groaned, opening his optics.  
"Oh no," The Jon exclaimed, "the monster has awoken! Hide!" He finished, bending over and lying his head on Sam's thigh.  
"Oh, hush up." The Spine grumbled, sitting up, his knees digging into the back of the seat in front of him. His joints were locked up for staying in such a terrible position all night. He looked out the window as Michael and Steve went to change seats. They playfully shoved each other and took a moment to stretch and joke around. Finally, Michael slid into the driver's seat, with Steve hopping into the passenger seat.  
"Are we close to home?" The Jon instantly questioned Michael. Michael looked at Steve, who burst into laughter.  
"We, sadly, are still passing through Kansas, The Jon." Steve said, looking over his shoulder at the bots behind him. The Rabbit and The Spine both groaned loudly and The Jon looked back at them.  
The car fell silent, for once, The Jon fell into a calm state and watched as the sun slowly moved through the sky. He would shoot questions at The Spine about stars and the sun here and there, learning about the Milky Way and the other planets close by. The other humans and robots also tuned to The Spine's informative voice as he broke down the world to The Jon.  
The Rabbit tuned out after a few moments, watching the puff of clouds ahead. He pressed his head to the glass, watching how the clouds swirled together in a mix of blue and gray. Watching the clouds and The Spine's calm voice in the background caused The Rabbit's optics to slowly close as he slid into a stasis.  
He awoke to his head violently slamming against the glass, his optics shot open and he looked up to the driver. Michael gripped the wheel tight enough to make his knuckles white, he cursed under his breath and slowly edged the vehicle to the side of the road.  
"Flat tire?" Steve questioned, unhooking his seat belt while looking at Michael. "I'm not sure, feels like it." Michael unhooked his seat belt as well and got out of the vehicle.  
Steve got out as well and both stood at the front left side of the vehicle, staring at what was presumed a flat tire. Neither moved, both appeared to be debating their next move.  
The Rabbit got a shiver down his spine. "Let's get out of here.." He murmured, looking out the window. "Can't with a flat tire, buddy." Sam replied, pulling open the van door. He slid from the vehicle, The Jon following him out.  
The Spine eagerly followed them, desperate to move his joints. Rabbit followed in suit, not wanting to be left alone in the steamy van. But as he stepped onto the boiling pavement, he realized outside wasn't much better.  
Sam walked around the front of the van, a trail of robots following behind him. They all crowded around the flat tire, staring at it like it should be ashamed of slowing down their journey and that it should fix itself there and then. The Spine cleared his throat, his head between Steve and Michael's.  
"Ya gonna fix that..?" He asked, looking at Steve.  
"We'd love to-" Michael hesitated.  
"But we seem to...be missing our spare tire." The Spine inhaled deeply and began his long speech how everyone there knew about this trip for MONTHS and how could no one have thought to bring a spare. They all began arguing, full if aches and carsickness.  
"Well why don't we just use YOU as the tire?!" Michael asked, glaring at Steve. Rabbit again tuned out the sleep deprived grumps and turned to look at the clouds. His hand went to the back of his neck, where an aggressive tingling was taking place.  
"Whatcha looking at?" The Jon asked, standing beside Rabbit. Rabbit pointed with his other hand and the darkening clouds.  
"Looks like it's gonna rain..." The Jon whispered and Rabbit shivered at the silence of the landscape. The calm before the storm.


	2. Facing the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of Chapter one, in which the storm has now come.

The two bots turned back around to see The Spine interjecting Michael and Steve's argument.  
"Alright, Steve, I know you have electrical tape for your gear, go get it, I have a way we could fix the tire, chances are the hole was caused by none other than a nail." Steve went to reply, to shoot down the ridiculous idea, but instead looked over at Rabbit.  
Rabbit got such a violent shiver that his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, blankly staring as The Spine instantly appeared by his side. Michael and Steve came, they all were asking Rabbit questions, receiving no replies. The Spine pulled Rabbit up from the ground.  
"What is it, Rabbit?" He finally asked, the others falling silent. Sam's eyes became glued on the clouds, his mouth agape but no words coming out.  
"That." Rabbit mumbled, his eyes glued on Sam. Everyone looked at Sam, then followed his line of sight to the clouds.  
Gray clouds had a nasty underlying tone of green, they swirled around, the beginning of a funnel.  
Everyone began panicking, looking at the broken vehicle. Rabbit walked away from the group and the funnel, towards the back of the van. The Spine followed him, both spotting the same thing.  
"Guys..." The Spine stated in a tone that hushed the group. They came over as The Spine extended his long arm, pointing at the cabin a little ways back. "It's our best option." He stated, but didn't hear any agreements.  
From the look of it, the cabin wasn't going to last any longer than the band. The Spine zoomed his optics on the house, seeing it's wooden structure splintered with age. But towards the back of the house, he saw the cellar door poking out from the 'backyard'. He zoomed out and looked at the funnel.  
"Rabbit?" He finished the question in their heads - via handy wifi connections- , asking about the direction and time of their coming issue.  
"Right for us-us-us and v-v-very soon." Rabbit finished aloud, not bothering to hide this conversation from the rest of the group.

"Come on!" The Spine yelled, grabbing a fistful of Steve's black shirt, he took off running. The Jon grabbed Sam's hand and they began running as well, the bots nearly dragging the human's along. Rabbit looked at Michael.  
"Let's go!" Michael yelled at Rabbit. Rabbit needed no further encouragement. He started out in a jog, his joint's grinding were covered by the crescendo of a monstrous roar.  
The Spine reached the cabin first, he grabbed the masterlock on the Cellar door, and lacking the key, ripped it off. He pulled open the door, fear building in his chest as he refused to look at the coming terror. He reached down, pulling the panting Steve off the ground and quite literally throwing him down the cellar stairs. He turned just as Jon and Sam arrived, but his optics locked in on something else.  
Michael had one hand on Rabbit's forearm, pulling them forth. The Spine watched as dirt swirled up from the ground, connecting to the funnel and charging straight for them, just as Rabbit said it's path would be. Winds picked up, The Spine was pulled forward, he grabbed onto the shattering cabin with one hand, and his hat with the other. He watched the van roll towards the tornado.  
And then he saw it a millisecond before it happened, wood shattering and cracking from the cabin and god, why couldn't Rabbit run faster? He felt the building he held onto crumbling and shredding, his arm stung.

A clean piece of wood shuttered and shook free from it's nail bonds. It flew away from the cabin, straight for the last two band members. The Spine watched everything slowly unfolding and he couldn't seem to move. Rabbit had seen the wooden stake before Michael had. He lunged forward, his arm flying out and striking Michael, stopping the human dead in his tracks as the robot came in front of him.  
The Spine let go of the crumbling building and ran. His feet skid - kicking up all kinds of fine grained sand - as he came to a stop by the two downed family members. Dirt ripped up from the ground, creating a tanned scenery. The Spine pulled Michael up from the ground and pushed him towards the cabin. No use talking now, the roar of the tornado had turned into a nasty screeching. The Spine bent down and scooped Rabbit up in his arms. He began his desperate sprint towards what he hoped was the cabin, it was impossible to tell at this point.

He nearly tripped making his way onto the staircase of the cellar. He set Rabbit down, seeing the bot lower himself down the concrete steps as he turned and pulled he cellar door shut, sliding the wooden beam to hold it secure in it's place.  
Hopefully.  
Sam was at the bottom of the steps, holding the shaken up Jon in his arms. Steve rubbed his twisted ankle, but as he watched Rabbit lie back and slide down the staircase, he hopped up and limped over.  
Michael lie passed out on the ground, his hand resting on his chest, his face twisted up in pain. The Spine ran down the few steps and crouched beside Rabbit, who was lying against the bottom step.  
"Michael!" The Spine screamed over the earth shaking roar.  
"No good!" Sam yelled back, "he's out cold!"  
Steve crouched down, watching Rabbit's colorful optics slid over to gaze at him.  
"I-I'm s-s-sorry..." He choked out, barely audible over the roar. The Spine grabbed Rabbit's shoulders, adjusting so he was leaning over his brother. "Don't you apologize, Rabbit. Hang in there, we're going to fix you up."  
The Spine looked over at The Jon, who nodded his head. He sent his field medical support file over to The Spine, who let the file download in his mind. The Jon had received a field doctor upgrade during the Second World War. Though it was outdated, it would have to do.  
"P-Pappy's gon-gonna be mad that I b-broke my-my-my insides." The Spine watched as oil slipped from between Rabbit's lips. He dabbed Rabbit's chin with his sleeve.  
"He would have been so proud that you risked yourself to save a human, you did a great thing Rabbit." The Spine felt his throat tightening up and he looked away.  
Rabbit weakly laughed, causing gears to grind. The Spine snapped his optics back over to Rabbit. Of course, his gears and cogs were shredding that chunk of wood. At this rate, there was no way they'd get all the splinters out of Rabbit's torso compartment. The chunk of wood was speared directly below the blue matter in Rabbit's chest. If the the wood splintered too much, it'd puncture Rabbit's blue matter casket and THAT would be very bad.  
"Rabbit, I need you to power down, your gears are shredding this wood and-" The Spine trailed off as Rabbit began shaking his head. "Not g-gonna do-do it." He choked out.  
There came a loud cough, shockingly louder than the tornado. Heads spun around to see Michael sit up, rubbing his chest with a twisted face. He looked at each member in the dimly lit cellar, and smiled. "We'll I'm damn glad you all are alive," his eyes rested on Steve, "I love you, man." The Spine had a feeling Michael may have hit his head a bit hard when Rabbit stopped him.  
Michael scrambled off the dusty ground and inhaled deeply, wincing as he did so. "Threw a few ribs out, anyone else hurt?" He asked, apparently not aware of Rabbit. Steve pointed at Rabbit and Michael's eyes followed the pointed direction to see the staked Rabbit. He instantly came over and crouched across from The Spine. His eyes went over the wound, then he clicked his tongue.  
"You either need to power down, or find a way to slow down your cogs and gears, I can't have you shredding that wood anymore than you already have." Michael claimed, looking at Sam.  
"Are you alright?" Michael asked, receiving a thumbs up from Sam. The Jon sat beside Sam, his head lying against Sam's knee. Michael looked at Steve, the man appeared only shaken up, as to be expected.  
But then Michael's eyes rested on The Spine. Well, his arm, to be exact. The Spine, shockingly, had worn a short sleeve shirt that day, so it was easy to see just what Michael saw. He cursed and grabbed The Spine's hand, pulling and turning it to get a better view of The Spine's forearm.  
"That is nasty." Steve instantly said, Rabbit's optics locked on to the metallic arm that was extended right next to the chunk of wood protruding from his chest. His ears began ringing as he stared at the wood, not even aware of The Spine's arm anymore.  
The Spine bit his lower black lip as his green optics looked at his forearm. The top layer of metal casing was gone, more like shredded away, exposing wires and tubes and artificial nerve wiring. That explained the feeling that was currently beaming up his arm, spreading over his spine, and filling his brain. Pain. "Ow." He said, his free hand reaching to remove a small chunk of wood that protruded from a tube.  
"Don't!" Michael yelled, pushing away The Spine's other hand.  
All heads snapped up to the cement ceiling, hearing a nasty absence of sound. Well. More of like they were currently in the center of the tornado and they could hear the roar but not really. The absence of sound still had a sound, one like shattering bones. The cabin they hid under was being shredded away.  
The Spine felt a connection from Rabbit, then, the center of this monstrous tornado finally not breaking the connection between the robot's wifi's. He looked at Rabbit, the automaton was focused on the dagger like wooden limb extending from his chest.  
He was terrified, and so was The Jon. The Spine wished he could go back to when they were in the van, he much preferred The Jon talking TOO much compared to him being dead silent. The roar began to crescendo again, causing the connection between he and his brothers to be broken.  
"Spine, c-c-can yo-you t-t-talk about th-the st-st-stars again?" The Spine didn't need a WiFi connection to his brother to know that the bot was completely beyond terrified.  
But The Spine had a feeling a story would calm him, and hopefully slow the destruction of the wood between his cogs and pistons.  
"Sure, want to hear the story about how the stars came to be?" The Spine asked, looking around at each face in the small room.  
Steve approached from a corner, holding up three bottles of water. He nodded his head, smiled, and handed one bottle to Michael and one to The Spine. Michael took off the lid and instructed Rabbit to drink some, and he did. The Spine took a tiny sip of water, his body twitched in joy as the water hit a broiler. He passed the bottle to The Jon, who took a sip before handing the bottle to Sam.  
"Once upon a time..." The Spine began. He adjusted to sitting with his legs crossed. He gently maneuvered under Rabbit, who rested his head against The Spine's torso as his body relaxed and formed to his brother's.  
Already, his cogs had slowed considerably as The Spine gently rubbed his arms, pulling his hands away from the chunk of wood. Michael continued his exploration of the wound, listening as The Spine began the story. Steve sat close, bringing a lantern to view. He lit it and set it at Rabbit's feet. Sam and The Jon came closer, sitting so that they all circled around, with Rabbit's legs creating the center of the circle. The Spine exhaled, letting steam run from his lips and disperse around the room.  
And the story began.


	3. Stars are where the home is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of the piece "When the Road Takes a Twist".

"Long long ago, all the stars were bundled up, close together. Each beamed a delightful song to each other, each so different yet so alike at the same time." The Spine took a moment to breath deeply, he had his arms wrapped around Rabbit's upper torso. Rabbit's optics had closed, steam puffed from his cheeks once every half minute.  
"Just like us, right, The Spine?" The Spine had been jolted from his focus on Rabbit by The Jon's question. He looked up, his optics looking at each member seated around the lantern.  
"That's right, The Jon. We all are stars with our own story." The Spine said.  
'Some stars burn out, though.' The Spine looked down at Rabbit, hearing the statement being directed to him. The tornado had lifted just moments ago, silence was a near blessing to the ringing ears. The Spine just frowned, he wasn't about to let his Rabbit star burn out, not while he could help it.  
Michael had managed to pry open Rabbit's chest plate. Luckily, the wood had pierced right between the two separate pieces, so no further damage was done when they were opened. The Spine's hands grasped Rabbit's as Michael prodded at the stake.  
"But there was one star who had always wondered what it was like beyond their little abyss. He brought this up to the other stars, and they all became excited with the idea of expanding out, looking for adventure." Rabbit inhaled sharply when Michael's hand bumped against the wood.  
The Spine felt Rabbit's grip on his hands tighten. Even The Jon was picking up bits and pieces of what Rabbit was trying to only convey to The Spine.  
'Make him stop!' The Jon caught that strand that was meant for The Spine. He looked away from Rabbit, looking at Sam. He knew they had to get that wood out of Rabbit before it got worse, but oil and hydraulic fluid was leaking so bad, soaking The Spine's pants as Michael desperately searched for the broken tubes. Steve had given up his red bandanna when Michael found the source, he stuffed the bandanna into Rabbit, the oil leak already slowing.  
'Make it stop...' The Spine listened patiently as Rabbit begged to him. He saw The Jon sit taller, a frown on his face as he looked at The Spine. He had heard Rabbit's begging, The Spine was sure. Sam's eyes were drooping, but opened again when The Spine was taking too long to continue his story.  
"The stars all pulled together, really tight, each whispered their goodbyes to their friends," Sam's eyelids closed. "And with that, there came a loud 'WHOOSH', and just like that, each adventure began." The Jon smiled.  
"But when you talked about the Milky Way, all those stars are kinda close...they're friends. Right?" The Jon asked, his head tilting to the side. Michael adjusted to sitting on his knees and leaned forward. He had a way to get the wood out, but it wasn't going to be pretty.  
"That they are, they still whisper to each other, talking excitedly of tales and adventures." The Spine answered, his optics nervously focused on Michael as his fingertips touched the wood.  
"Why don't you guys lie down and sleep a little, I can tell you are sleepy." Michael said before Jon could ask another question. Steve pointed to a corner he had previously found the water bottles.  
"There are some blankets over there." Sam immediately hopped up and got one, lying himself down in that corner. Jon patted Rabbit's arm before going to the corner to power down.  
"Hold the lantern closer." Michael whispered to Steve after a few moments of quiet. Steve instantly grabbed the lantern and held it above Rabbit's lower stomach.  
Michael leaned over and whispered in The Spine's ear. But it was no use, Rabbit had heard via WiFi.  
"You a-a-a-are NOT do-doing that!" Rabbit hissed. The Spine leaned his head down by Rabbit's ear.  
"Come on, buddy. If we get it out, you will feel so much better." The Spine begged. He pulled Rabbit a bit higher so his brother's temple plate touched his cheek-plate.  
"It will hurt too bad." Rabbit whined. Michael remained patient, giving The Spine time to convince him to let it happen.  
"Our next p-pit st-stop, I want ice-ice cream." Rabbit demanded.  
"We will get you a whole container." The Spine agreed, a tiny smile reaching his lips. He knew Michael had a hard time cleaning ice cream out of the robot's system, but Rabbit earned it.  
"O-o-okay." Rabbit whispered in a shaky tone. Without anymore words. The Spine reached his right hand up and pressed it against Rabbit's mouth, he felt Rabbit's optics close. Rabbit's grip tightened on The Spine's other hand. And with that, Michael gripped the wood, and ripped it out of the automaton.  
At first, Rabbit's body had gone so ridged that his back plunged into The Spine's chest, causing him to exhale sharply. Next came the scream, The Spine was glad he covered Rabbit's mouth, or the sleeping band members would have woken to quite a scare. At some point of Rabbit's wiggling and Michael's harsh demands to keep him still, The Spine wrapped his long legs around Rabbit's. Next, Rabbit shut down, a system overload, his body went limp against The Spine's. Michael was talking fast, not bothering to whisper.  
Steve heard a quiet sob come from the corner, most likely Jon. Michael grabbed Steve's hands and plunged them into the oily depths of Rabbit while telling him to hold pressure on a tubing Michael hadn't noticed before. IF Rabbit survived from this, and Michael begged that he would, he wasn't going to have enough fluid to move easily.

But The Spine did know what was happening. He knew Rabbit was loosing what little oil he had left, he wasn't going to be able to move.  
"Can you divert the oil to just run his chest mechanisms instead of cycling to his joints? There's no point keeping the joints moving if they will hardly function, I think his broilers and chest cogs need more lubrication anyway." The Spine thought aloud. Michael's head snapped up and he smiled.  
"That's a good idea!" He instantly looked back to this open chest of Rabbit. The Spine took the lantern with his free hand (his other was still clasped in Rabbit's) and he held it close for Michael since Steve's hands were a bit occupied with gears, oil, and tubes. Rabbit's body twitched, and The Spine realized the nightmares were back. He removed his legs from Rabbit's and crossed them again.  
"Rabbit," he whispered, steam leaving his lips and sliding down Rabbit's cheek-plate. "When you wake up, we are going on an adventure, all of us stars, and we're going to get you so much ice cream." The Spine smiled and tilted his head, his chin touching his brothers cheek as he watched the flickering optic lids. Rabbit mumbled something and shifted, trying to turn on his side. The Spine let go of his hand and gently grasped his shoulder, holding him down.  
"Almost done, just hang in there." He whispered to Rabbit.  
Steve again scavenged the cellar, finding some old dishrags that were shredded on the corners from mice. Michael tore the rag into strips, and adjusted certain tubing, connecting ends to new ends.  
After an hour of desperately trying to get as much oil BACK into the tubes whence they came, Michael closed up Rabbit's chest plates.  
"It's not pretty, but I have a feeling he'll survive." Michael confirmed. Steve pulled him into a friendly hug, then patted his shoulder.  
"You did a good job, because of you, he will survive." Steve said all the words The Spine had hoped and prayed weren't going to be said. Those words triggered Michael. His eyes filled with water.  
"If it weren't for me..." Michael choked out a sob. The Spine shifted his focus to the robot that was whirling to life in his arms. Rabbit's optics opened and his mismatched eyes landed on Michael. Michael just shook his head, tears streaming down his oily cheeks. Rabbit looked down at his bare chest. His plates were closed, with a literal hole in the center. He looked back at Michael.  
"Th-thanks, Mich-Michael." Rabbit mumbled, gears whirling clearly in his chest. He craned his neck to look up at The Spine. "And th-th-thank you, The Sp-Spine" The Spine smiled and gently pressed his forehead to Rabbit's temple plate.  
"I'm so-so sorry Rabbit. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't-"  
"Michael, to-today, I saved a human and he sa-saved me in ret-return. I regret n-n-nothing." Rabbit deadpanned, Michael wiped away his tears with the back of his oily hand, only making more black smears across his face. He inhaled deeply and nodded his head; offering a small smile. Steve gently set his hands on Michael's shoulders and pulled him away to get some sleep.  
"My-my tummy hurts, The Spine." Rabbit commented, his eyes glued on the hole in his copper chest. The Spine reached his arms around and buttoned up Rabbit's simple black dress shirt. Michael came back, setting a tan blanket over Rabbit and The Spine. He gave Rabbit's hand a gentle squeeze before standing tall again. "Thank you, Rabbit." He spoke quietly. Rabbit smiled and gave a simple nod of his intricate head. Michael picked up the lantern and returned to cluster of bodies. The Spine kept his arms wrapped around Rabbit's stomach, they rested just above the wound. Rabbit again tilted his head to touch The Spine's.  
'Thank you for not giving up.' The Spine sent to Rabbit. He watched Rabbit smirk before powering down for the night. The Spine thought of doing that, himself, but instead hummed to Rabbit as the smaller bot twitched. And though they all were hurt in some way, he was sure that they would get out of this okay.


End file.
